Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Customary for filmmakers to talk over their own movies at screenings?

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Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 08-05-2005, 01:22 AM:

(Not sure which section this belongs in, feel free to move)

I just saw a free showing of "The Chumscrubber" at the Crest Theater tonight (pretty good movie by the way). The director and 2 producers were there and did a live intro and a Q&A afterwards- first time that's been done at a showing I actually went to. I was a bit surprised however that they started the Q&A session while the end credits were still rolling- they had the lights brought up, stood up in front of the screen and talked over the song that started the credits, and had the sound completely turned down when James Horner's score started after that. I stood up and protested and they gave me $10 to come see it again (I'll keep the money and spend it on the DVD when it comes out) but I was shocked to see them show that much disrespect towards their own film. The movie was rather intense and it would have been good to watch the end credits with the intended music to "decompress" and then get back to the real world afterwards. If I were running the booth I would have refused to turn down the sound. Some of the "extra" material on the "Farenheit 9/11" DVD shows them doing the same thing though. I'm not creative enough to make my own movie, but if I were I'd demand silence from start to finish!

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 08-05-2005, 01:50 AM:

They just don't want the audience to walk out since 99% of people would've done just that.

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 08-05-2005, 05:09 AM:

That is SOP (at the filmmakers or festival director's request) at most of the film festivals I have run. They gotta get the Q&A going ASAFP in many cases. Plus Brad is probably right about the audience simply hitting the road as soon as the credits roll. The credits roll, without sound.

-Aaron

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 08-05-2005, 10:53 AM:

Yes

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 08-05-2005, 01:06 PM:

I hate when directors do this (and they _all_ do it). Especially when there isn't a separate sound system for microphone/voice use, and I have to judge whether and/or when to cut off the music and switch to the mic sound.

The problem is that, if there isn't an immediate indication (mic turned on, spotlight brought up on director) that there will be a Q&A after the screening, half of the audience will leave when the credits start. Just as Brad said. That's incredibly rude to the filmmaker, but people do it anyway.

Talking over (or instead of) the credit music strikes me as a very tacky practice, and also seems disrespectful of those who have worked on the film. On the other hand, I also think that ten-minute shorts which contain five minutes' worth of credits are also tacky and disrespectful of the audience.... [Smile]

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 08-05-2005, 02:52 PM:

quote: Brad Miller
They just don't want the audience to walk out since 99% of people would've done just that.

But they'd already told everyone before the movie to "please stay" afterwards for a discussion- anyone who doesn't want to read credits wouldn't have any interest in discussing the movie anyway. A lot of people did get up and start walking out during the final shot though, before any credits even appeared. I'll never understand why some people are in such a hurry to get out of a theater, like it was a big punishment for them to be there in the first place. Besides, this theater has a CURTAIN! Everyone should want to see it close at the end!

It really robbed the movie of proper closure, and it seemed like they were giving the finger to the other people who worked on the movie- if your name didn't get on the poster, you're not important.

I'd actually like to see more audiences stay in the theater and talk about the film after it's over, instead of being in a mad rush to get the hell out as soon as possible. I saw a few people do this a couple times at the theater I worked at in Davis. Usually the best thing I can do after a good movie is check IMDB comments.

Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 08-05-2005, 03:09 PM:

I think people show their respect to the director and crew of the movie just by showing up to the theater and paying for a ticket instead of staying home and downloading it or buying a bootleg on the streets. I never stay for credits unless there's some bloopers or whatnot in it.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 08-05-2005, 04:00 PM:

Ditto to Mike's comment. Patrons can't be expected to remember or care that Bob Douglas was the assistant animal wrangler. After all, who the heck is Bob Douglas???

Past the director/producer/sound mixer/editor/etc, the rest of it is more for record purposes of who worked on the film than actual recognition by the general public.

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 08-05-2005, 04:24 PM:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0234965/

Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 08-05-2005, 10:16 PM:

Who really cares? Apparently no one else in the audience was offended. It's their movie - let them do what they want with it ... if they want to stop it in the middle that would be fine with me ... Besides ... it was FREE ... what's there to complain about?

Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 08-05-2005, 11:33 PM:

quote: Jesse Skeen
I'd actually like to see more audiences stay in the theater and talk about the film after it's over, instead of being in a mad rush to get the hell out as soon as possible.

Since the cleaning crew is also in a mad rush to get the theatre cleaned and seated for the next show, I think the lobby would be the most approptiate place for after movie discussion.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-06-2005, 12:07 AM:

Apparently movie-makers don't like sitting through the credits any more than most movie-watchers do.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 08-06-2005, 12:27 AM:

This is so wierd. It's sort of an inverse rule of what happens on DVD.

On DVD, most commentary tracks end when the end credits start to roll. It's pretty contradictory that the filmmakers would choose to start talking over the end credits during a screening.

Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 08-06-2005, 03:15 AM:

i've seen this practice too. i don't approve. i do watch the whole film from beginning to end (and time it as well).

if i were doing a q&a, which i don't think i ever would, i'd rather be addressing those who truly wanted to stay and listen, not those who simply didn't have an opportunity to leave without being rude.

and as an attendee, i'd like to have that opportunity to leave politely.

carl

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 08-06-2005, 05:43 AM:

I've never understood what's so painful about watching credits- at the very least I like to hear the music and reflect on the movie, even if it's a bad one (in that case I'll think all the people listed are idiots.) There's certainly nothing to be gained by leaving early- you never know when they're going to put a surprise at the end. I guess if you made the movie and don't make the end credits special you can do what you want with them though.

With the audience not interested in credits, I have to wonder who exactly watches most of the "bonus material" on DVDs- a lot of them have stuff that runs longer than the actual movie! While I watch everything at least once on discs that I buy, I have to shake my head at how mundane some of the stuff they put on is. I'll sit for 4 minutes of end credits on a crappy movie, but do we really need to see 30 minutes of deleted scenes that weren't any good to begin with, or a 20-minute "analysis" on a minor gag in the film? They did this stuff on laserdiscs mostly just for the movies that really deserved it, but almost everything on DVD now gets the "special edition" treatment even if it's a piece of crap. A lot of directors do commentary tracks now when they really don't have anything useful to say. I've fallen asleep to a good number of them. I've only noticed a few that stop talking at the end credits, but those that do seem to already be fumbling for something to say during the last few minutes.

Still, I've always thought it would be neat to include "bonus material" on a theatrical release to show after the movie for those who actually stayed for all of it.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-06-2005, 12:17 PM:

I sort of enjoy the commentary tracks and the occasional "making-of" feature, but I usually watch'em once and that's it. The best commentary track I've ever heard is Ron Howard's on "Apollo 13." His attention to detail is amazing and you can just tell that he'd be a great guy to work with.

My 2nd favorite is the one on "Used Cars," which was Kurt Russell and Robert Zemeckis plus one other guy. It made an already hilarious film even funnier.

The "Spinal Tap" commentary (by the band members in character) is good too but it was so over-hyped as being the funniest thing ever, I was a bit let down by it.

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 08-09-2005, 04:23 PM:

Even when you have the director there, or really interesting commentary, nobody stays for the credits. It's the only reasonable
approach. And remember, the director wants as many people to stay as possible, not just the die-hards.

I guess a hybrid possibility would be to shut down the projector and hold the credits until after the Q&A. Perhaps I'll give that a shot the next time it comes up.

Edit: or for those of us running changeover, let the speaker talk over the credits, then cue up the reel again to the proper point and play the credits with audio after the Q&A session is over.
--jhawk

[ 08-10-2005, 07:19 PM: Message edited by: John Hawkinson ]

Posted by Jason Whyte (Member # 1433) on 08-11-2005, 12:49 PM:

I cover the Vancouver and Victoria Film Festivals yearly and all films that play at the festivals with a Q and A afterwards remain playing with the lights down, with sound, all the way until the end and the Q and A begins after the final credit has hit. Audiences there are the rare sort that, you know, actually WATCH the credits instead of the mutliplex drones that appear to be allergic to them.

The last time the festival staff killed the sound was in 2003 at Victoria where the volume was turned down on the film at one screening which was a part-musical. Many in the audience groaned at this and then the projectionist forgot to turn the volume back up for the next show! That has since never been done.

Jason

Posted by Jon Morgan (Member # 3059) on 08-14-2005, 02:40 PM:

I expected this thread to be about the director talking DURING the movie, which is something I have sadly witnessed as well.